A Study of the Effects of Time Lag between Learners' Errors and Teachers' Feedback on the Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge

The present study aims at studying the effect of immediate and delayed feedback on the depth of vocabulary knowledge. To this end, two classes were selected from Sokhansara institute of those who were studying at the intermediate level. But, to ensure homogeneity, an OPT was given based on which two groups were selected, one acting as the immediate feedback group (IFG) and the other as the delayed feedback group (DFG). In the next stage, a pretest which was adapted from Read’s Word Association Test was given to assess the students’ depth of vocabulary knowledge before treatment. After that, students in IFG received feedback over their lexical errors immediately in the presentation stages of the lessons, while in DFG, feedback was provided in the practice and production stages of the lessons. At the end of the semester, a parallel post test was given to assess the students’ depth of vocabulary knowledge. As to the analysis of the results, a paired sample Students’ T-Test was run on SPSS to compare the scores of participants in pretest and posttest within each group. An independent sample Students’ T-Test was also run between the post test results to check the differences between two experimental groups. The findings of this research indicate that using delayed feedback has a positive impact on enhancing the depth of vocabulary knowledge of EFL students at intermediate level

Investigation of the binding mechanism and inhibition of bovine liver catalase by quercetin: Multi-spectroscopic and computational study

Introduction: The study on the side effects of various drugs and compounds on enzymes is the main issue for monitoring the conformational and functional changes of them. Quercetin (3,5,7,3ʹ,4ʹ-pentahydroxyflavone, QUE), a polyphenolic flavonoid, widely found in fruits, vegetables and it is used as an ingredient in foods and beverages. The interaction of bovine liver catalase (BLC) with QUE has been studied in this research by using different spectroscopic methods. Methods: In this work, the interaction of QUE with BLC was investigated using different spectroscopic methods including ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption, circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular docking studies. Results: Fluorescence data at different temperatures, synchronous fluorescence, and CD studies revealed conformational changes in the BLC structure in the presence of different concentration of QUE. Also, the fluorescence quenching data showed that QUE can form a non-fluorescent complex with BLC and quench its intrinsic emission by a static process. The binding constant (Ka) for the interaction was 104, and the number of binding sites was obtained ~1. The ∆H, ∆S, and ∆G changes were obtained, indicating that hydrophobic interactions play a main role in the complex formation. In vitro kinetic studies revealed that QUE can inhibit BLC activity through non-competitive manner. Molecular docking study results were in good agreement with experimental data, confirming only one binding site on BLC for QUE at a cavity among the wrapping domain, threating arm and β-barrel. Conclusion: Inhibition of BLC activity upon interaction with QUE demonstrated that in addition to their beneficial effects, they should not be overlooked for their side effects

Dichotic auditory-verbal memory in adults with cerebro-vascular accident

Background and Aim: Cerebrovascular accident is a neurological disorder involves central nervous system. Studies have shown that it affects the outputs of behavioral auditory tests such as dichotic auditory verbal memory test. The purpose of this study was to compare this memory test results between patients with cerebrovascular accident and normal subjects.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 patients with cerebrovascular accident aged 50-70 years and 20 controls matched for age and gender in Emam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Dichotic auditory verbal memory test was performed on each subject.Results: The mean score in the two groups was significantly different (p<0.0001). The results indicated that the right-ear score was significantly greater than the left-ear score in normal subjects (p<0.0001) and in patients with right hemisphere lesion (p<0.0001). The right-ear and left-ear scores were not significantly different in patients with left hemisphere lesion (p=0.0860).Conclusion: Among other methods, Dichotic auditory verbal memory test is a beneficial test in assessing the central auditory nervous system of patients with cerebrovascular accident. It seems that it is sensitive to the damages occur following temporal lobe strokes

Effects of Resveratrol on the Structure and Catalytic Function of Bovine Liver catalase (BLC): Spectroscopic and Theoretical Studies

Purpose: The study on the interaction between various compounds and macromolecules such as enzymes has been very important for monitoring the alteration of structural and functional properties of them. Resveratrol (3, 5, 4-trihydroxy-stilbene; RES) is a biologically active phytoallexin found in grapes and other food products. This article shows an interaction of native bovine liver catalase (BLC) with natural antioxidant product, trans resveratrol (tRES) using multispectroscopic methods. Methods: The interaction between BLC and tRES is performed using UV-vis absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and molecular docking study. Results: In vitro kinetic studies indicated that tRES can decrease BLC activity through uncompetitive inhibition. The results of spectroscopic methods represented that the binding of tRES with BLC can change the micro-region around aromatic amino acids (tryptophan (Trp) and tyrosine (Tyr)) and quench intrinsic fluorescence of BLC by a static mechanism. According to fluorescence quenching data analysis, it was revealed that tRES has one binding site on BLC. The thermodynamic parameters were obtained, which demonstrated that tRES can bind to BLC by van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds. Molecular docking results indicated that tRES binds to BLC away from heme group and near to the Tyr 324 and Phe 265. These results are in agreement with the experimental results. Conclusion: The inhibitory effect of tRES on BLC demonstrated that excessive consumption of the antioxidants could be resulted in hazardous effects

Adsorption and safe immobilization of Sr ions in modified zeolite matrices

Abstract In the present study, an Iranian natural zeolite (Sabzevar region) was evaluated as a natural adsorbent for the elimination and immobilization of strontium ions from an aqueous solution. For improving the adsorption efficiency of strontium ion, the zeolite surface was modified by the Schiff base ligand of bis (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)1,2-diaminoethane (H2L). The natural zeolite and zeolite/H2L were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), BET and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Analysis of the natural zeolite showed that the zeolite is from the type of clinoptilolite and has a crystalline structure with the specific surface area 29.74 m2/g. The results showed that strontium adsorption onto modified zeolite increases compared to unmodified zeolite from 64.5% to 97.2% (at pH = 6). The effective parameters pH, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of strontium ions, contact time, temperature, and interfering ions, were studied and optimized. The maximum adsorption efficiency was confirmed by modified zeolite and found to be 97.5% after 60 min of equilibrium time at pH 6, 0.05g as adsorbent dosage, and at 25 °C. Adsorption of strontium was confirmed by Langmuir model with maximum adsorption capacity of 10.31 mg/g. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of strontium ions on the adsorbent follows pseudo-second-order (PSO) model. Also, the thermodynamics of the adsorption process indicated that the adsorption of strontium on zeolite/H2L is an endothermic and spontaneous process, and the adsorption mechanism is a combination of physical and chemical adsorption. Finally, to manage the secondary waste generated from the adsorption process, strontium ions were immobilized in a zeolite structure. The results showed that the stabilization is well done with the thermal preparation process. After thermal treatment at 25–900 °C, modified zeolite satisfactorily retains strontium during back-exchange tests with NaCl solution. According to the results, the amount of strontium released from the adsorbent phase decreases from 52.6 to 1.6% with increasing heat treatment temperature

Pattern visual evoked potentials in dyslexic versus normal children

Purpose: Presence of neurophysiological abnormalities in dyslexia has been a conflicting issue. This study was performed to evaluate the role of sensory visual deficits in the pathogenesis of dyslexia. Methods: Pattern visual evoked potentials (PVEP) were recorded in 72 children including 36 children with dyslexia and 36 children without dyslexia (controls) who were matched for age, sex and intelligence. Two check sizes of 15 and 60 min of arc were used with temporal frequencies of 1.5 Hz for transient and 6 Hz for steady‑state methods. Results: Mean latency and amplitude values for 15 min arc and 60 min arc check sizes using steady state and transient methods showed no significant difference between the two study groups (P values: 0.139/0.481/0.356/0.062).Furthermore, no significant difference was observed between two methods of PVEPs in dyslexic and normal children using 60min arc with high contrast(Pvalues: 0.116, 0.402, 0.343 and 0.106). Conclusion: The sensitivity of PVEP has high validity to detect visual deficits in children with dyslexic problem. However, no significant difference was found between dyslexia and normal children using high contrast stimuli